Product Description
A spirited look at the history of alcohol, from the dawn of civilization to the modern day Alcohol is a fundamental part of Western culture. We have been drinking as long as we have been human, and for better or worse, alcohol has shaped our civilization. Drink investigates the history of this Jekyll and Hyde of fluids, tracing mankind's love/hate relationship with alcohol from ancient Egypt to the present day. Drink further documents the contribution of alcohol to the birth and growth of the United States, taking in the War of Independence, the Pennsylvania Whiskey revolt, the slave trade, and the failed experiment of national Prohibition. Finally, it provides a history of the world's most famous drinks-and the world's most famous drinkers. Packed with trivia and colorful characters, Drink amounts to an intoxicating history of the world.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 5 reviews)

Entertaing & Informative by B. Spitnale (NJ)

4 Stars
September 28, 2009
If you drink, ever wonder why? How did humans figure out how to create alcohol? Why don't people enjoy drinking grape juice as much as wine? How did it become a social thing? All these questions, and many more, are pondered and answered in this informative and interesting book. A good sociological examination as to why people drink, how they drink, why they drink what they do and why it's been viewed favorably by some cultures in history and unfavorably by others. As someone who is always fascinated by learning how humans tick and how we've changed through history - I found this book both relaxing (a good non controversial read) and thought provoking.

Isn't there a book like this already? by Book Lover (San Francisco, CA United States)

1 Stars
February 19, 2009
Hmmmm this sounds very similar to a book I have - Alcoholica Esoterica by Ian Lendler. That one was incredibly funny and had lots of interesting facts I enjoyed telling my friends! I ended up giving out endless copies as Christmas gifts as I enjoyed it so much. This book is the same sort thing churned out slightly differently...and not half as interesting. However I do recommend Alcoholica Esoterica and give that 5 stars!

From Sumeria to Napa Valley by William S. Grass

4 Stars
September 23, 2008
Gately brings us a lively, humorous chronicle of the culture of booze from ancient Mesopotamia to our own day. The Dorothy Parker ditty on page 378 is alone worth the price of admission. Subtract a total of one star for the following editorial oversights: On page 44 we are told Pliny the Younger was a contemporary of Marcus Aurelius. On page 134 we are told Gabriel Metsu's Old Drinker is holding the pipe in his left hand and the tankard in his right. On page 145 we are told that the Carolina colonies made progress in the second half of the sixteenth century. On page 249 we are told that Saint Paul at his redemption was en route for Tarsus.

Not a review, but a question..... by Anne Salazar (Huntington Beach, CA United States)

5 Stars
September 15, 2008
Years ago, when I was actually studying to become an alcoholism counselor, I read something from long-ago America, during some sort of political election..... One of the politicians was asked what he thought about alcohol and he proceeded to give an oratory as only a politician could: He said something along the lines of "If you are speaking of the gentle liquid that soothes a man's throat and makes of him a poet....etc. then I am all for alcohol! But, if you are speaking of the devil's brew that turns a man into a wife-beater and irresponsible employee....etc. then I am against the use of alcohol!" Has anyone ever read the entire "sermon", and is it included in this book? I have been trying to find it for years.......

Classic by estpak (españa)

5 Stars
August 21, 2008
From ancient Greece to MADD (Mothers Against Drunken Driving) Gately hits a beat. From Jacob's Creek to San Francisco steam, from Louis Pasteur's 1862 discovery that yeast eats sugar and excretes alcohol to the "green fairy" absinthe and its eventual prohibition, from the drift away from spitoons to tubes at home and the staggering popularity of Cognac in Hong Kong and Kristal in Harlem - a cornucopia of wit and tasty notes - to your health!

SIMILAR PRODUCTS

	Tobacco: A Cultural History of How an Exotic Plant Seduced Civilization by Iain Gately (Author) Tobacco was first cultivated and enjoyed by the indigenous inhabitants of the Americas, who used it for medicinal, religious, and social purposes long before the arrival of Columbus. But when Europeans began to colonize the American continents, it became something else entirely -- a cultural touchstone of pleasure and success, and a coveted commodity that would transform the world economy forever. Iain Gately's Tobacco tells the epic story of an unusual plant and its unique relationship...
	Alcoholica Esoterica: A Collection of Useful and Useless Information As It Relates to the History andConsumption of All Manner of Booze by Ian Lendler (Author) Finally, there’s a book that’s almost as much fun as having a couple of drinks. Alcoholica Esoterica presents the history and culture of booze as told by a writer with a knack for distilling all the boring bits into the most interesting facts and hilarious tales. It’s almost like pulling up a stool next to the smartest and funniest guy in the bar. Divided into chapters covering the basic booze groups—including beer, wine, Champagne, whiskey, rum, gin, vodka, and...
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